8 Years In Prison For Man Who Fired Into Car Carrying Children

HARTFORD — A man who fired several gunshots into a car to avenge a bar fight, narrowly missing two young children, was sentenced to 8 years in prison on Tuesday after entering into a plea agreement with the state.

Jose Lopez was arrested shortly after the shooting on May 17, 2013 and was originally charged with 24 assault, drug and gun charges, including three counts of criminal attempt to commit murder and three counts of reckless endangerment, plus violation of probation.

Lopez pleaded guilty in October to charges of criminal attempt to commit first-degree assault and carrying a pistol without a permit. He also admitted that he violated his probation for convictions for criminal attempt to assault a police officer, carrying a pistol without a permit and sale of a controlled substance.

By pleading guilty to the reduced charges, he agreed to a sentence of no more than 10 years in prison with special parole that is capped at 10 years, said Dennis McMahon, Lopez' standby counsel. The sentence is considerably lower than it would have been had he been found guilty of all charges after a trial.

On Tuesday, Judge Edward J. Mullarkey sentenced Lopez to 8 years in prison, followed by 10 years of special parole. Mullarkey said that he was "very troubled" by the circumstances of the case, including the fact that Lopez was found with a weapon and 89 bags of heroin in his car, but was moved by letters of support written by Lopez' girlfriend and stepson.

Lopez, who at the start of this case repeatedly claimed to be a sovereign citizen and not subject to the laws of Connecticut, told the court that he was sorry for what he had done, but claimed that there were no children in the back seat of the car when he fired the shots.

"I do regret what I did and I apologize for what I did," Lopez said.

According to an arrest report, Lopez pulled up next to the vehicle on Henry Street, yelled something threatening and then fired. The shooting was allegedly revenge for a fight between the woman in the car and another woman five days earlier at NV Nightclub on Allyn Street.